Corrosion behavior of cold-worked austenitic stainless steels in liquid lead–bismuth eutectic

Abstract The effect of cold working on the corrosion behavior of austenitic stainless steels in liquid lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE) was studied to develop accelerator-driven systems for the transmutation of long-lived radioactive wastes and lead–bismuth cooled fast reactors. Corrosion tests on solution-treated, 20% cold-worked and 50% cold-worked 316SS and JPCA (15Cr–15Ni–Ti) were conducted in oxygen-controlled LBE. Slight ferritization caused by Ni dissolution and Pb–Bi penetration were observed for all specimens in the corrosion test conducted at 500 °C for 1000 h in liquid LBE with an intermediate oxygen concentration (1.4 × 10 −7 wt.%). In the corrosion test performed at 550 °C for 1000 h in liquid LBE with a low oxygen concentration (4.2 × 10 −9 wt.%), the depth of the ferritization of 316SS and JPCA increased with the extent of cold working. Only oxidation was observed in the corrosion test that was performed at 550 °C for 1000 h in liquid LBE with a high oxygen concentration (approximately 10 −5 wt.%). Cold working accelerated the formation of the double layer oxide and increased the thickness of the oxide layer slightly. In contrast, the ferritization accompanied by Pb–Bi penetration was widely observed with oxidation for all specimens corrosion tested at 550 °C for 3000 h under the high-oxygen condition. Cold working increased the depth of the ferritization of 316SS and JPCA. It is considered that cold working accelerated the ferritization and Pb–Bi penetration through the enhanced dissolution of Ni into LBE due to an increase in the dislocation density under conditions in which the protective oxide layer was not formed in liquid LBE.